The Best of Milwaukee Beer Dinners series -- which pairs food from top Milwaukee chefs with craft beer -- is back this month and raising funds for a badly injured veteran.

The veteran is a friend since childhood of Wolf Peach chef Daniel Jacobs. Sgt. Ed Matayka was severely injured in an IED blast in Afghanistan in 2010, which required the amputation of both legs. He also suffered a stroke as a result of the injuries. His rehabilitation continues, and he and his wife now are expecting twins. | Feb. 15, 2013»Read Full Blog Post

Brand New

Nobody can say Brand New didn't have its old material down tight at the Harley-Davidson Roadhouse on Friday night. Then again, without any officially released fresh material since 2009, Brand New had plenty of practice time. | July 4, 2014»Read Full Article

The guys in Mötley Crüe have brawled with undercover cops and drag queens, broken bottles over their heads for fun, set beds and trees on fire — and much, much worse. Do you think they'd give a flip that their Summerfest show Friday ran more than an hour late?

The official word is that technical problems were the reason thousands upon thousands slowly began filtering into the Marcus Amphitheater right when the show was supposed to begin. (I received multiple reports of sound issues during the night, but must admit the sound was fine from my seat in the lower bowl.) The delay at least allowed Mötley Crüe to live out one more rock star cliché (that of the tardy headliner) before it supposedly calls it quits at the end of this two-year tour. | July 4, 2014»Read Full Article(3)

Hundreds of fans lined up outside the Marcus Amphitheater Friday evening, hours before the gates even opened before Mötley Crüe's last Milwaukee show — ever.

Well, at least according to media buildup for this show, the band's "final tour" (tagline: "All bad things must come to an end") kickstarted July 2 in Grand Rapids, Mich. | July 4, 2014»Read Full Blog Post

Roger Sweaney has survived cancer, epilepsy and a stroke, but while he triumphed over his medical crises, he lost a financial one.

He lost his job, family and house within years and now lives on Social Security Disability Insurance because, he said, he made a key misstep: He hadn't made the decision to acquire long-term disability insurance. | July 4, 2014»Read Full Article(4)

Milwaukee's biggest bang, the U.S. Bank Fireworks, will light up the skies over Lake Michigan again on July 3. The Independence Day Eve tradition starts at 9:30 p.m. off Veterans Park, 1010 N. Lincoln Memorial Drive.

There are a couple of big changes in the western suburbs: Wauwatosa's parade route switches directions — going west instead of east along North Ave. — and there are changes in viewing access and parking fees for West Allis because of construction in State Fair Park's north lot. | July 4, 2014»Read Full Article

Surprisingly, one of the few companions that Shepard — a cutter, dope smoker and OxyContin popper, and sometimes a reluctant "prositot" for truckers — selects is Emily Dickinson, the Belle of Amherst. Shepard leans on Dickinson's poetry and life story the way other teens might lean on rap music or the Bible: as a source of inspiration and pleasure, and as a filter for trying to make sense of her own experiences. | July 4, 2014»Read Full Article

The All-City Read program will begin in October and culminate in a series of special events in February. Organizers plan to suggest thematically related novels for children and teens. | July 4, 2014»Read Full Blog Post

Cha Lan — known as Charlie — Wong, is the 22-year-old daughter of a dancing mother and noodle-making father. Her parents had escaped Communist China, coming to America to start a family. Describing herself as clumsy and plain, Charlie works as a dishwasher in Manhattan's Chinatown.

We learn all this in the straightforward opening paragraph of "Mambo in Chinatown," Jean Kwok's second novel. But in a book that's all about the difference between what we see and who we are, rest assured that there's more to Charlie than meets the eye. Charlie tells us early on that she wishes she were someone else, and before long this ostensibly ugly duckling will begin swimming like a swan, toward her goal of becoming a professional dancer. | July 4, 2014»Read Full Article

The Brown Bottle, the defunct Old World-style tavern in Schlitz Park, will be reopened, and it appears the company that runs the business park is behind the opening. | July 4, 2014»Read Full Blog Post(2)

The Best of Brew City is your mobile guide to going out in Milwaukee. Locate events, live music, bars and restaurants near you and in Milwaukee's most popular neighborhoods. Visitbestofbrewcity.com and download the app for iOS or Android today.

Freeport Music is celebrating Independence Day — and its 10th year of providing free live music in downtown Port Washington — with a daylong concert Friday starting at 2:30 p.m. at Franklin St. at Grand Ave. The headliner, playing at 8 p.m., is the Smithereens; Sam Llanas takes the stage at 6:30 p.m. Also on the bill: Will Pfrang (2:30 p.m.), Tommy Keene (3:30 p.m.) and Familiar Looking Strangers (5 p.m.). Port Washington's fireworks provide the encore at 9:30 p.m. | July 4, 2014»Read Full Article